Abortion Foe Delays Plans To Bury Fetus

December 22, 1985|By United Press International

PENSACOLA — An anti-abortionist who has kept a preserved fetus for nine months says plans have been scrapped to bury ''Baby Charles'' on the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortions.

John Burt, 46, of Pensacola, who has used the five-inch fetus as a ''counseling tool,'' says he expects to keep it until February in a bid to get more media coverage of the burial.

A member from a group called ''Defenders of the Defenders of Life'' had planned to bury the fetus on her property in Sheperdstown, W. Va., on Jan. 22, the anniversary of Rowe vs. Wade.

But Burt said a pro-life leader suggested waiting until a march scheduled for early next year by two Wisconsin anti-abortionists who plan to walk across the country. Burt said there ''probably would be more coverage'' if the burial coincided with that.

The gray fetus, believed to have been aborted in its 26th week, has been preserved in a clear jar of formaldehyde.